Stories by Paul Roberts

IBM releases desktop-priced ThinkPads

Priced at under US$1,000, a new version of the ThinkPad notebook computer is targeted at users who are interested in switching from desktop PCs to laptop computers, but don't have much need for mobility, according to IBM.

Network Associates reports Q1 loss

Already plagued by questionable accounting practices and federal investigation, Network Associates Inc. said on Thursday that it lost US$3.7 million, or US$0.02 per share, in the first quarter of 2003, after earning US$15.7 million in the same quarte...

Microsoft warns of virtual machine vulnerability

Microsoft warned users on Wednesday about two new security vulnerabilities affecting its Microsoft Virtual Machine, Microsoft Proxy Server 2.0 and Microsoft ISA Server 2000 products.

Samba patch issued for buffer overflow vulnerability

A software buffer overflow vulnerability in Samba open-source software could give an attacker remote access to a machine running that software, according to security company Digital Defense Inc.

SETI@home contains vulnerability

Providing further proof of the adage that "No good deed goes unpunished," the SETI@home screen saver contains software vulnerabilities that could allow attackers to execute malicious code on machines running the popular program, according to an advis...

HP puts 802.11g in new notebooks

Newly designed Compaq Presario notebook and desktop computers will sport sleek looks and be outfitted to burn CDs and DVDs, play games and view multimedia files. The notebooks will also provide integrated wireless LAN technology for the nascent 802.1...

MS failure to patch NT 4.0 raises support issue

Microsoft's statement last week that it would not offer a version of a security patch for NT 4.0 has called into question an earlier promise to continue supporting the operating system through the end of 2004 and raised concern among its customers.

Software bug may cause Patriot missile errors

U.S. Central Command said that the U.S. military is investigating the possibility that a software problem in the Patriot Missile defense system may be responsible for targeting two friendly aircraft, but that other scenarios could just as likely be r...

Al-Jazeera hobbled by DDOS attack

The Arab satellite television network Al-Jazeera suffered a second day of sustained distributed denial of service (DDOS) attacks against its English and Arabic language Web sites on Wednesday.

Dirty bomb? Grab your PDA!

Devotees of PDAs (personal digital assistants) can now put "survival" alongside "calendar" and "address book" in the list of useful applications, as two companies announced release of Terrorism Survival Plan software for PDAs.

Fourth CERT document is leaked online

An individual using the name "hack4life" sent another internal CERT Coordination Center memo to an online discussion list Friday, detailing a product vulnerability that hadn't yet been disclosed, in what appears to have been the fourth such incident ...

Hackers, virus writers take to war theme

The beginning of war in Iraq prompted a rash of protest hacking on the Internet, with new war-themed viruses and Web page defacements directed at U.S., U.K. and Australian interests. But the devastating new worms and viruses that were predicted by so...

Microsoft warns of firewall vulnerability

Microsoft Corp. warned customers of another security vulnerability on Wednesday, this one affecting its Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2000 firewall and Web cache product.

Survey shows fewer, costlier viruses

The growth of malicious code slowed between July 2001 and the end of last year, but new viruses pose a more constant threat and last longer than in previous years, a new survey of companies has found.

New critical Windows vulnerability found

A new software vulnerability that affects a number of different versions of Microsoft's Windows operating system could enable remote attackers to use a Web page or HTML formatted e-mail message to run their own malicious code on a Windows machine.